R y u

BioREAL NAMERyu

OCCUPATIONFighter

ABILITIESUtilizes a unique fighting style based on Ansatsuken, with elements of karate, judo, and taekwondo blended in. He is also able to utilize his spiritual energy.

WEAPONSNone

PROFILERyu’s name gained great recognition among martial artists after he defeated the Muay Thai king in a fight. However, instead of claiming his fame, Ryu began to wander around the globe, hoping to become a true martial artist. He continues his journey, engaging in battles with fighters he meets along the way.

FIRST APPEARANCEStreet Fighter (1987)

POWER GRID

*This is biographical, and does not represent an evaluation of the character’s in-game combat potential.

ALTERNATE COSTUMES

INTELLIGENCE4STRENGTH6

SPEED5STAMINA6

ENERGY PROJECTION7FIGHTING ABILITY7

PS3: K Xbox 360: a PS3: I Xbox 360: x PS3: J Xbox 360: y PS3: S Xbox 360: t

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“SHOW ME YOUR STRENGTH.”

Attack SetStanding Basic Attacks

Screen Command Hits Damage Startup Active Recovery Advantage on Hit

Advantage if Guarded Notes

1 Standing l 1 50,000 5 3 10 +3 +1 —

2 Standing m 1 75,000 8 3 21 -3 -5 —

3 Standing h 1 90,000 10 3 21 +4 +2 781 + O snap back

4 s 1 100,000 9 5 22 — -1Launcher attack, not special or hyper combo cancelable

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Crouching Basic AttacksScreen Command Hits Damage Startup Active Recovery Advantage

on HitAdvantage if

Guarded Notes

1 Crouching l 1 45,000 5 2 11 +3 +1 Low attack

2 Crouching m 1 68,000 8 3 19 -1 -3 Low attack

3 Crouching h 1 80,000 10 4 26 — -4 Low attack, unrecoverable knockdown

Aerial Basic AttacksScreen Command Hits Damage Startup Active Recovery Notes

1 Air l 1 55,000 6 13 5 Overhead attack

2 Air m 2 108,000 9 4 19 Overhead attack

3 Air h 1 90,000 9 4 23 Overhead attack

4 Air s 1 95,000 9 8 19 Overhead attack, causes flying screen if used in launcher combo

Command AttacksScreen Command Hits Damage Startup Active Recovery Advantage

on HitAdvantage if

Guarded Notes

1 1 + m 2 63,000 23 4 22 -3 -5 Overhead attack

2 1 + h 1 95,000 13 3 21 +4 +2 —

As a Partner-Crossover AssistsScreen Type o Crossover

Combination Hyper Combo

Description Hits Damage Startup ActiveRecovery (this

crossover assist)

Recovery (other

partner)Notes

1 � – AlphaShinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku

Shoryuken H 1 150,000 27 14 132 102 Knocks down opponent

2 � – Beta Shinku Hadoken Hadoken L 1 100,000 34 — 128 98 Projectile has 5 low priority durability points

3 � – GammaShinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku H

3 135,400 37 17(6)6 115 85 Knocks down opponent

1 2 3

1 2

1 2 3

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Shinku Hadoken: Like all beam-based hyper combos, Shinku Hadoken is extremely useful in a variety of situations. While one can improvise a million different ways to hit with a beam hyper combo, Ryu’s uses Shinku Hadoken can be used mainly in three ways: to end combos, to win fi refi ghts with other zoning charcters, and to hyper combo-cancel a Hadoken that the opponent has evaded, pushing them back across the screen.

Holding up on the controller after activating Shinku Hadoken will aim it directly upward. This can be used as a very risky anti-air against opponents at super jump height directly above. The air version of Shinku Hadoken is great for punishing opponents trying to rain projectiles down on you from super jump height, and holding down on the controller during the activation period allows you to aim the beam downward at a steep angle. After the beam has been activated, all versions of Shinku Hadoken can be steered slightly using the controller.

While Shinku Hadoken has slower startup than most other beam-based hyper combos, it also recovers much more quickly and is essentially safe if guarded.

5

6

Special MovesScreen Name Command Hits Damage Startup Active Recovery Advantage

on HitAdvantage if Guarded Notes

1

Hadoken L 781 + l 1 100,000 10 — 35 -2 -4 Projectile has 5 low priority durability points

Hadoken M 781 + m 1 100,000 10 — 39 -6 -8 Projectile has 5 low priority durability points

Hadoken H 781 + h 1 100,000 10 — 43 -10 -12 Projectile has 5 low priority durability points

2 Air Hadoken (in air) 781 + a 1 100,000 14 — 38 — — Projectile has 5 low priority durability points

3

Shoryuken L 178 + l 1 100,000 3 14 25 -18 -13 Invincible from frames 1-2

Shoryuken M 178 + m 1 120,000 3 14 33 -21 -21 Invincible from frames 1-5

Shoryuken H 178 + h 1 150,000 3 14 47 -30 -35 Invincible from frames 1-9

4

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L 765 + l 1 90,000 13 6 23 — -3 Knocks down opponent

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku M 765 + m 2 114,000 13 7(6)6 21 — -1 Knocks down opponent

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku H 765 + h 3 143,500 13 17(6)6 22 — -2 Knocks down opponent

5

Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L (in air) 765 + l 1 100,000 13 20

Until grounded, 4 frames ground recovery

+25 +23 —

Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku M (in air) 765 + m 4 117,600 13 26(4)6

Until grounded, 1 frame ground recovery

+4 +3 —

Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku H (in air) 765 + h 5 135,800 13 36(4)6

Until grounded, 1 frame ground recovery

+7 +5 —

6

Jodan Sokuto Geri L 576 + l 1 100,000 14 5 30 — -9 Wall bounces opponent

Jodan Sokuto Geri M 576 + m 1 100,000 16 5 32 — -11 Wall bounces opponent

Jodan Sokuto Geri H 576 + h 1 100,000 18 5 34 — -13 Wall bounces opponent

1

Hadoken: Much like in his Street Fighter incarnations, Ryu’s best and most important attack is the Hadoken. The Hadoken has faster startup and signifi cantly faster recovery than most projectile attacks in the game, and the projectile itself is relatively large and remains an active threat on the screen for a long period of time. Each Hadoken deals substantial damage: infl icting 100,000 damage if hit, and 30,000 chip damage if guarded. Hadoken L is the typically the version you’ll use the most: it has signifi cantly faster recovery time compared to the other two versions, and usually you’ll want your projectiles to occupy the screen for a longer period of time.

The strategy behind using Hadoken is very straight-forward: toss out a Hadoken L and make your opponent deal with it. Anticipate how your opponent will try to avoid the Hadoken and do the proper counter!

2

(in air) Hadoken: Ryu is one of the few characters in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 with the ability to fi re a projectile forward in the air; most characters can only fi re projectiles diagonally downward. This allows you to prevent your opponent from maneuvering around your ground projectiles; anticipate the height at which your opponent will attempt to avoid your ground Hadoken, then place an air Hadoken at that height! When attempting to predict and cut off an opponent’s route, always use air Hadoken H; Hadoken L likely won’t reach your opponent in time to block them off.

Air Hadoken can also be done slightly off of the ground to create a projectile that cannot be crouched under, and is more diffi cult to jump over. However, the air version of Hadoken has noticeably more recovery time than the grounded versions, giving your opponent much more time to move between projectiles.

Tatsumaki Senpukaku: Unlike most other games, the ground version of Tatsumaki Senpukyaku cannot be crouched under. However, the attack is still unsafe to throws if guarded, severely limiting its usefulness. Tatsumaki Senpukyaku is at its most useful if you can anticipate when your opponent is going to use advancing guard: simultaneously call a crossover assist while attacking with a normal move, then cancel that normal move into Tatsumaki Senpukyaku. The forward momentum will push you through the advancing guard while the crossover assist keeps you safe after your opponent guards it.

Shoryuken: Ryu’s Shoryuken is an attack that is invincible from the fi rst frame, an extreme rarity for a special move in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. This allows you to blow through any attack patterns that have even the smallest of gaps.

While having a Shoryuken up your sleeve is always a powerful asset that can force any offensive character to change their strategy, it’s also a huge risk: Shoryuken is very unsafe if guarded. Even hyper combo-canceling into Shinku Hadoken in the air will not assure safety unless you team hyper combo to another character. Crossover assists can be called immediately before using Shoryuken to make it safer, but this is nearly impossible to do in situations where you only have a tiny window to act.

3 4

Jodan Sokuto Geri: Jodan Sokuto Geri wall bounces a challenger if it hits, allowing for additional combo damage against cornered opponents. Unfortunately, the lengthy recovery time on the attack prevents you from gaining any real benefi t from a wall bounce mid-screen; the best you can do is usually a simple hyper combo-cancel into Shinku Hadoken.

Jodan Sokuto Geri is slow and very unsafe if guarded, making it very diffi cult to use effectively outside of combos. All versions of the attack infl ict the same amount of damage, but have progressively slower startup time and recovery at higher strengths. This makes Jodan Sokuto Geri L the most useful version by far. The other versions wall bounce an opponent marginally farther toward you, but this only makes it more likely that your foe will bounce over Ryu’s head during a corner combo.

(in air) Tatsumaki Senpukyaku: The air version of Tatsumaki Senpukyaku is much more useful; Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L done very early in a jump allows you to continuously attack all throughout Ryu’s jump arc. Done repeatedly at close range, this can be very diffi cult for many characters to stop without using advancing guard. If the attack hits, you can easily transition into a full ground combo afterward.

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L in the air can also be used to create a cross-up, and is an effective way to counter opponents trying to throw escape—jump over their accidental standing h attack and hit them from behind with Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L!

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku M and H behave very differently, sending Ryu straight forward in the air. Ryu is vulnerable after this attack all the way until he reaches the ground, making this diffi cult to use effectively as an aerial mobility option. However, when performed as close to the ground as possible, air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku H becomes a viable way to approach and attack a guarding foe; it allows you to transition into a full combo if it hits, and leaves you at a +5 frame advantage if guarded.

Hyper CombosScreen Name Command Hits Damage Startup Active Recovery Advantage

on HitAdvantage if

Guarded Notes

1,2,3,4Shinku Hadoken (in air OK)

781 + aa

25 261,700 18+1 80 23 +3 -8

Can be steered using the controller, holding up during the super flash causes beam to fire straight up, holding down during air version causes beam to fire straight down, knocks down opponent, downward version is OTG-capable, beam durability: 25 frames x 1 high priority durability points

5Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku

765 + aa

41 257,900 13+4

2(1)4(1)2(1)5(1)2(1)5(1)2(1)5(1)2(1)5(1)2(1)5(1)2(1)5(1)2(1)5(1)2(1)5(1)2(1)5(1)

2(1)2(2)6

35 — -1217 frames invincibility, last hit causes unrecoverable knockdown

6

Shin Shoryuken (Level 3 Hyper Combo)

178 + aa

3 380,000 11+0 4 50 — -28 22 frames invincibility, unrecoverable knockdown

1 2 3 4

5 6

Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku: Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku is typically only used to take advantage of its large amount of invincibility frames. It is very unsafe if guarded, so try to only use it if you have a teammate on standby that you can safely team hyper combo to. If not, you might as well just use a Shoryuken H for the same purpose; the damage difference isn’t substantial and Shoryuken H doesn’t cost meter.

Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku doesn’t knock down opponents until the fi nal hit, making it useful in some THC combos that require an opponent to be standing, like Chris’s Grenade Launcher hyper combo.

Shin Shoryuken: Like all level 3 hyper combos, Shin Shoryuken is not subject to damage scaling at the end of long combos. Shin Shoryuken infl icts less damage than most level 3 hyper combos, but allows full juggle combos afterward against a cornered opponent! Against a mid-screen opponent you are too far away to juggle anything but a Shinku Hadoken.

Ryu

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Battle PlanOVERVIEWVITALITY: 1,000,000 CHAIN COMBO ARCHETYPE: MARVEL SERIES

X-Factor Lv.1 Lv.2 Lv.3

Damage 135% 165% 200%Speed 105% 110% 115%

Your goal with Ryu is to make contact with as many Hadoken projectiles as possible while controlling the pace of the match.

Why is the goal so Hadoken-centric?

Hadoken projectiles inflict substantial damage and chip damage, forcing your opponent to take action to avoid them.

Both ground and air versions of Hadoken can be used to cut off large portions of the screen.

Ryu has several strong ways to stop momentum from a challenger and regain optimal Hadoken-throwing range.

How do you control the pace of the match while pestering opponents with Hadoken projectiles?

Predict the route that your opponent will take to avoid a Hadoken, then plant an air Hadoken directly within that path.

Utilize a long-ranged crossover assist to cut off extra movement routes, making it easier to predict where your opponent will go.

Hyper combo-cancel into Shinku Hadoken when your opponent manages to get around your Hadoken projectiles and push them back across the screen.

If your challenger gets within attacking range, neutralize their offense with an invincible Shoryuken.

ON THE GROUND

UP IN THE AIRShoryuken is a great way to stop any offensive momentum your opponent has. Just make sure it isn’t guarded!

Repeatedly doing air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L is a great way to apply pressure to cornered opponents. It also can be used as a cross-up!

Use Shinku Hadoken to push your opponent back across the screen when things get too close for comfort.

Ryu is one of the few characters that can quickly attack the opposite end of the screen at any height. Take advantage of this to counter lots of tactics!

If you get ahead in a long-ranged fi refi ght, there isn’t much room to act between Hadoken projectiles. Force your opponent to avoid them and counter!

Air s is Ryu’s best air-to-ground attack. It also can be used as a cross-up in some situations.

As a zoning character, Ryu usually best fills the role of meter-builder on a team. Although Ryu becomes much more powerful when you have a lot of excess hyper combo gauge bars to throw around on Shinku Hadoken, it’s generally too inefficient to spend most of your hard-earned meter in this way.

Ryu is at his strongest when pitted against attacking characters, since they will usually have to wade through a sea of Hadoken projectiles to get their offense started. Against these characters your strategy is the most simple: control your opponent’s movement routes with Hadoken projectiles and projectiles from a crossover assist. In other words, force your opponent to take to the air by threatening them on the ground with Hadoken L and crossover assist projectiles, then stop them cold in their tracks by pre-emptively placing an air Hadoken H in their way!

Your opponent is likely to guess correctly eventually and maneuver around a Hadoken projectile at medium range. When this happens you can hyper combo-cancel a Hadoken into Shinku Hadoken and push your opponent back across the screen at the cost of one hyper combo gauge bar. You won’t have enough meter to keep using Shinku Hadoken every time your opponent gets through, so you’ll have to rely on your close-ranged defense to see you through some tense situations.

If your opponent is coming at you from the air and you’re not currently stuck in the recovery frames of a Hadoken, then you can easily anti-air anything your challenger throws at you Shoryuken M or H. This works so well that your opposition should be wary of coming at you with an air attack, and may instead attempt to jump forward and guard your Shoryuken. Even though Shoryuken is very unsafe if guarded, you can use this to your advantage: if your foe is attempting to jump at you and guard your Shoryuken, you can instead safely use an air throw or push them back out with various normal attacks. Ryu’s standing l attack is also a strong anti-air, provided you perform it a little early. If it hits, you can easily perform a chain combo into launcher for major damage. If guarded, you can perform the chain combo anyway and cancel into Hadoken to your opponent backwards. 1 + h is a very strong anti-air that can also safe if guarded and can lead into a combo, but must be performed much earlier to work well.

If your opponent super jumps toward you, Hadoken-based zoning doesn’t work nearly as well; even if you correctly predict it and meet them in the air with a Hadoken, your foe will land on the ground earlier than you and have an advantage. Against super jumps you’ll typically want to anti-air with air throws from a normal jump or a crossover assist-covered Shoryuken. Wavedashing under the opposing character and attacking with crouching l is also a strong option, especially if you are near the corner.

Ryu becomes much stronger when paired with a long-ranged crossover assist. The projectiles from these assists can be used to control the entire ground level, forcing your opponent to take to the air. Since an assist was used to create the ground-level projectile, this leaves Ryu free to thwart attempts to advance forward using air Hadoken projectiles. Call your long-ranged crossover assist as often as possible, unless your opponent’s character has a strong counter to crossover assists, like a beam hyper combo. Even if your opponent has an easy way to directly do major damage to your crossover assist, if predicted you can almost always evade the attack with Ryu and hit your opponent back with a Shinku Hadoken.

Characters with the ability to teleport are much more difficult to keep away with standard Hadoken-based zoning. Against these characters you should rely on your long-ranged crossover assist to create almost all of your projectiles; firing a Hadoken projectile will very likely cause your opponent to evade it with a teleport and hit you with a combo. It’s generally futile to try to keep away characters that can teleport for long; against these characters you should stall with your crossover assist for as long as you can while you look for an opportunity to move in and attack.

In cases where your opponent manages to get within close range and starts to apply pressure, Ryu has the luxury of being able to use the invincible Shoryuken to hit a challenger out of almost any attack pattern. When your opponents begin to wise up and attempt to guard your Shoryuken attempts, take advantage of this by switching momentum around and attacking back while they are guarding! In other words, defensively you should mix up Shoryuken with attacking. Generally, you can push opponents away with your own attack string and resume zoning, but if you get really aggressive you can find opportunities to hit your opponent with throws or even overheads! However, in most situations

Ryu’s aerial movement options are almost non-existent. Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L affects Ryu’s trajectory by giving him a very small amount of momentum up and towards his opponent before falling. This can be used to gain slightly more height and air-time on a jump, and can be used to cross up opponents at distances not normally possible. Against cornered opponents, repeatedly jumping forward and performing air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L is a strong way to apply pressure, especially when used in tandem with crossover assists. Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku M and H both send Ryu directly forward in the air for their duration, but these are difficult to use for air mobility purposes due to the unsafe recovery all the way until Ryu reaches the ground. Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku M can be used at normal jump height in tandem with a crossover assist as a relatively safe way to approach an opponent.

Ryu is one of very few characters in the game that can quickly attack the opposite end of the screen at any height, using air Shinku Hadoken. This can be used to counter a variety of tactics, such as opponents attacking with air-to-ground projectiles at super jump height, using aerial mobility options to run away, and any Flight mode-based tactics. Unless you’re using Ryu’s air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku tactics, you’ll want to stay on the ground as much as possible. Just having faster-recovering Hadoken projectiles and access to Shoryuken alone justify staying on the ground!

you should typically be safe and simply use advancing guard to push opponents away; most characters have difficulty maintaining offense afterward. If you get pushed all the way into the corner advancing guard becomes a much weaker option. Often you’ll be forced to use the defensive Shoryuken andattack mix-up.

Long-ranged firefights with other zoning characters can often be an uphill battle for Ryu players. While Hadoken projectiles have a respectable 10 projectile points, most of the other dedicated zoning characters have attacks that are designed to give them an edge in firefights, like Arthur’s Lance Toss or Iron Man’s UniBeam. To keep up with these attacks you’ll have to employ extra firepower from a long-ranged crossover assist. If your opponent has their own long-ranged assist as well, your only real chance to get ahead is to catch both the point and the crossover assist character in a Shinku Hadoken.

If you can evade your foe’s projectile and force them to guard a ground Hadoken L, then you can maintain control of the pace of battle for a few moments—two consecutive Hadoken L projectiles from across the screen leave a 10-15 frame gap between them, depending on how wide your opponent’s character’s hitbox is. This isn’t enough time for most characters to fire any projectiles that can beat a Hadoken.

If your opponent does have an attack they can use to break free, like a fast beam-based hyper combo, predicting this and following Hadoken L with Hadoken M leaves a gap of less than 6 frames. This will interrupt nearly anything your opponent tries that isn’t invincible. However, using stronger strengths of Hadoken will leave a larger gap afterwards. If you guess wrong and fire a stronger Hadoken projectile, your opponent will have enough time to move as they please after guarding.

Repeated Hadoken L projectiles from across the screen will often force your opponent to use their long-ranged crossover assist to keep up with you; anticipate this and counter with a Shinku Hadoken! If your challenger’s point character guards the Shinku Hadoken, the entire beam hyper combo will deal un-scaled damage to the crossover assist resulting in at least 50% vitality! This should deter your opponent from using their long-ranged crossover assist for quite some time until their vitality regenerates. If your foe is in the corner, canceling your Shinku Hadoken with level 1 X-Factor, then immediately performing another Shinku Hadoken will K.O. any character in the game if the opponent’s point character is guarding!

Your opposition may attempt to evade your projectile instead. One of the more common reactions is to super jump and fire a projectile downward from super jump height. Ryu is one of the few characters in the game that can directly counter this tactic: super jump with this character and hit them with Shinku Hadoken! If your opponent tries to advance toward you instead, you can usually keep firing Hadoken L projectiles to maintain your advantage.

If your challenger guards a Hadoken L and uses advancing guard, they’ll gain roughly 5

more frames to move before your next Hadoken makes contact. You can generally counter anything your opponent tries to do afterward with Hadoken H, but that will usually reset the pace of the match back to neutral afterwards. To prevent this, call a long-ranged crossover assist immediately before firing Hadoken H; this should pin your opponent in place long enough for you to fire another Hadoken.

Against some characters, you won’t be able to realistically win with pure zoning or long-ranged firefights; characters with teleports are too difficult to keep out for any extended period of time, and some zoning characters like Arthur are nearly impossible to keep up a firefight against without spending an exorbitant amount of meter on Shinku Hadoken. Against characters where your standard gameplan won’t work, you’ll often have to try to take the fight to them. This can be difficult, since Ryu’s offensive options aren’t exactly stellar.

Using air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku H as low to the ground as possible is one of the keys to maintaining offense with Ryu. When performed correctly it cannot be crouched under by most characters, it allows you to perform combos if it hits, and it leaves you at a +6 frame advantage if guarded. This is a strong way to both approach your opponent and to maintain pressure on them if they use advancing guard on one of your air attacks. To perform air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku as low to the ground as possible, slowly input 7654 , then press a slightly after finishing the motion. Even when performed as low as possible, air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku can be crouched under by the following characters:

Amaterasu

Arthur

Morrigan

X-23

Zero

Your main focus when attacking with Ryu should be trying to find opportunities to mix up your opponent with a 1 + m overhead or a crouching low attack. Unfortunately, for the overhead to be any real threat you’ll have to have access to either a crossover assist or X-Factor; after inputting 1 + m, press O slightly before the punch hits the opponent to create the timing needed to get an entire combo. Finding opportunities to mix up your challenger with 1 + m can be difficult without already using a crossover assist; typically you’ll have to corner your opponent first.

Ryu can also place the opponent in a strong mix-up whenever you get into throw range—see the Advanced Tactics section for details.

Ryu

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289

Special moves performed in the air will always re-align and face the opposing character. Since air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L has a small amount of forward and upward movement, this allows you jump behind an opponent, then air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L back in front of them!

This can be incredibly difficult to guard when used in tandem with a crossover assist: normal jump over the opponent and press the O button at the apex of the jump. When you’ve cleared your opponent, perform the air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku in the other direction to hop back in front of your target, likely causing them to guard the assist

in the wrong direction. Depending on the assist, you can dash forward and continue with a full combo! If your opponent is guarding the fake cross-up, simply land from your jump without performing the air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku to force them to guard in the opposite direction.

Whenever you get near your opponent at a slight frame advantage you should mix up the following options:

Call OTG-capable crossover assist and throw versus guarding opponents.

Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L versus opponents attempting to throw escape.

Air throw or crouching l versus opponents attempting to jump away.

If you have an OTG-capable crossover assist available, Ryu can easily combo after his forward

ground throw. This can often force challengers to attempt to use throw escape when they think a throw is coming. If you jump forward instead of throwing, the opponent will instead get a standing h attack when they attempt to throw escape. This allows you to jump over it and hit your opponent from behind with air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L and go into a full combo!

To prevent getting hit out of the air by your opponent’s standing h attack, wait until Ryu is near the peak of the jump before performing the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L. This should cause Ryu to completely clear your opponent’s attack and tag them from behind. If your opposition simply waits and guards, the cross-up Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L will still allow you to maintain offensive momentum behind the massive frame advantage.

ASSISTS

Projectile-based crossover assists like Arthur—� greatly enhance Ryu’s zoning game.

Fast, OTG-capable crossover assists like Deadpool—� greatly increase Ryu’s damage potential after ground and air throws.

The Shoryuken attack used by Ryu—� is not invincible at all! Use one of the other two assist types instead!

Post-Shoryuken M Mix-Up Throw Mix-Up

Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku Fake Cross-Up

Hitting your opponent with Shoryuken M creates a great opportunity to mix up your opponent for more damage.

If your opponent attempts to throw escape against you, counter by jumping forward and using air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L!

If you jump behind your opponent and perform air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku you’ll switch directions and hit your opponent from the front!

After hitting your opponent with Shoryuken M your opponent will air recover very high in the air. Most players will unconsciously air recover backwards in this situation. If you dash forward and press

1 + h you can anti-air nearly anything the opponent attacks with after air recovering and then proceed into a full combo.

Once your opponent wises up and begins to guard after air recovering, you can then dash forward and attack with a 1 + m overhead, made more difficult to guard since Ryu is off-screen for most of the startup time. Call a crossover assist to be able to combo after the overhead! Mix up the 1 + m overhead with crouching m to hit opponents who aren’t guarding low.

If you predict that your adversary will air recover forward, walk backwards after hitting Shoryuken M. This will put you in position to anti-air any attacks out of the air recovery with 1 + h, which eventually will force your challenger to guard after air recovering. Once your opponent begins to guard you can then dash under an opponent at the last second and attack with crouching l from the other side, or do a 1 + m overhead from the front side.

ADVANCED TACTICS

Ryu’s Hadoken assist type is an all-around great tool for any character, being one of the more versatile assists in the game. Projectile-based assists can be used for cover fire, teleport cross-ups, pinning your adversary down with guardstun, and nearly an infinite number of other applications.

The Tatsumaki Senpukyaku assist type can still be useful, though it is much more specialized. The additional hitstun and guardstun from the attack are most useful in attacking patterns and combos against cornered opponents. The Shoryuken assist type is difficult to recommend, since it does not retain any of the invincibility the attack normally has.

Ryu benefits most from projectile-based crossover assists like Arthur—� and Zero—�. These assists greatly enhance Ryu’s zoning game by controlling the ground level with the assist’s projectile while Ryu remains free to control the air with air Hadoken. In long-ranged firefights, projectile assists help immensely in being able to keep out with the sheer output of projectiles that other zoning characters can manage.

Projectile-based assists also allow Ryu to approach more safely with ground and air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, and can be used in combos involving the 1 + m overhead.

Ryu’s best anti-air is an air throw, which on its own doesn’t lead into much damage. Having a fast OTG-capable crossover assist like Wesker—� or Deadpool—� allows you to get full combos after air throws, greatly increasing Ryu’s defensive potential. The assists also allow you to combo after ground throws, which then allow you to perform Ryu’s strong throw mix-up detailed in the Advanced Tactics section.

Ryu becomes much stronger when you have a lot of hyper combo gauge bars to expend on Shinku Hadoken; beam-based hyper combos are very versatile and can be used to counter nearly any tactic when used correctly. They also allow you to push attacking opponents all the way back across the screen. Having one of the two meter-building crossover assists, Morrigan—� and Amaterasu—�, can give you many more opportunities to toss out a Shinku Hadoken, but finding time to use these assists instead of your projectile assist can be difficult.

Ryu is one of the better characters at punishing crossover assists from a challenger: simply blast them with Shinku Hadoken! If your opponent’s point character is guarding the beam, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 does not consider the beam to be a combo on the assist character; this means the entire hyper combo will do un-scaled damage to the assist in addition the assist’s 50% damage penalty! A single Shinku Hadoken will damage a crossover assist for more than 50% vitality if the point character is guarding.

COMBO USAGE

I. CR. l, ST. m, CR. h, 1 + h, s c SUPER JUMP, AIR m, AIR m (2 HITS), h c 765 + h c

781 + aa

(576,100 damage) Ryu’s basic combo inflicts a surprising amount of damage given how short and simple the combo is. After the launcher, performing air m (2 hits), h c 781 + l c 781 + aa will inflict slightly more damage at 579,400. However, it will also result in much less of a gain in hyper combo gauge and won’t push an opponent as far to the corner. Choosing to not hyper combo-cancel into Shinku Hadoken results in 412,500 damage.

Ending the combo with Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L into Shinku Hadoken (hold down) will place your opponent much lower on the screen, allowing for more team hyper combo opportunities. The Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L ender does not work against cornered opponents.

If this combo is guarded, cancel the crouching h into Hadoken L to remain safe from retaliation combos. You can also call a crossover assist after crouching h and cancel into Tatsumaki Senpukyaku M to maintain offensive momentum.

II. (CORNER REQUIRED) CR. l, ST. m, ST. h, 1 + h c 576 + l, ST. m, ST. h, 1 + h, s c SUPER

JUMP, AIR h c 781 + l c 781 + aa

(657,500 damage) Ryu can easily inflict more damage in corner combos by using the wall bounce property of Jodan Sokuto Geri L. Be sure not to use the M or H versions of the attack, since they do not increase the damage of the combo and make it more likely for the opponent to bounce over your head.

III. 1 + m, O, DASH, ST. m, CR. h, 1 + h, s c SUPER JUMP, AIR m (2 HITS), m (2 HITS), h c

765 + h (5 HITS) c 781 + aa

(501,900 damage, Arthur—�) Ryu needs the help of either crossover assists or X-Factor to be able to land combos after a successful 1 + m overhead. Almost any crossover assist that doesn’t knock an opponent across the screen can be used in this combo, but ones that leave the opponent standing are preferred. The timing to press the O button is usually immediately before the first hit 1 + m hits the opponent.

IV. AIR THROW, O, LAND, DASH, ST. h, 1 + h, s c SUPER JUMP, AIR h c 781 + l c

781 + aa

(490,200 damage, Wesker—�) Air throws are typically Ryu’s safest and most reliable anti-air option. Having a quick OTG-capable assist like Wesker—� or Deadpool—� allows you to get major damage after each successful air throw.

It is much easier to hit with the OTG-capable crossover assist if you perform a backwards air throw. Doing backwards air throws also have the benefit of increasing the distance between you and the corner, and allow you to guard unexpected early attacks from your opponent.

V. O, FORWARD THROW, ST. m, S. h, 1 + h, s c SUPER JUMP, AIR m (2 HITS), m (2 HITS), h c

765 + h (5 HITS) c 781 + aa

(463,400 damage) With an OTG-capable assist available Ryu can land full combos after a forward throw on the ground. However, this must be premeditated ahead of time as the O button must be pressed before the throw attempt.

Ryu has a strong mix-up against opponents attempting to throw escape; see the Advanced Tactics section for details.

Ryu

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COMBO APPENDIXGeneral Execution Tips

To do air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku M or H as low to the ground as possible, slowly input 7654, then press m or h slightly afterward.

Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L offense should be performed by simply jumping forward and inputting the motion as fast as possible.

“I still have a long journey before I am a true warrior…”

Requirements (Position, meter, etc.) Notes Command Sequence Damage

Airborne opponentAnti-air combo at normal jump height. The Shoryuken H is easier to hit the higher your opponent is in relation to Ryu.

Air m (2 hits), h c 765 + l, 178 + h 344,200

Corner required —Cr. l, st. m, st. h, 1 + h c 576 + l, st. m, st. h, 1 + h c765 + l, 178 + m c 178 + aa, st. m, st. h, 1 + h, s c super jump, air h c 765 + h (5 hits) c 781 + aa

1,058,400

X-Factor level 1 Combo after 7 + m overhead without using a crossover assist

1 + m (2 hits) c x, st. m, cr. h, 1 + h, s c super jump, air m (2 hits), m (2 hits), h c 765 + h (5 hits) c 781 + aa

980,400

— Do 765 4 + h to do the air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku H as low as possible

Air 765 + h, land, cr. l, cr. m, cr. h, 1 + h, s c super jump, air h c 781 + l c 781 + aa

477,400

—Combo after hitting opponent with air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku L

Air 765 + l, land, st. m, cr. h, 1 + h, s c super jump, air h c 781 + l c 781 + aa

632,100

—

Combo also works with ground throws but is much more difficult, especially after forward throw. Perform Air Shinku Hadoken with 7812 + aa

Air throw, 781 + aa (hold down on controller) OTG 330,000

Corner required

This combo is character-specific; some characters will fly out of the corner after the Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku. Perform the Air Shinku Hadoken by inputting 781 + aa

Cr. l, st. m, st. h, 1 + h c 576 + l, cr. m, st. h, 1 +h c 781 +l c 765+aa, jump, 781 + aa (hold down on contoller) OTG

789,000

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